Spray nozzle for fire hose and the like



United States Patent ffice 2,763,514 Patented Sept.. 18, 1956 SPRAYNGZZLE FOR FIRE HOSE AND THELIKE Edward H. Hansen and Harry LouisStettler, Jr., Elkhart, Ind., assignors to Elkhart Brass ManufacturingCorn pany, Inc., Elkhart, Ind., a corporation of Indiana ApplicationDecember 24, 1953, Serial No. 400,286

1 Claim. (Cl. 299--131) This invention relates to nozzles for fire`hoses and the like and refers more particularly to a nozzle of the typewhereby water under pressure may be expelled from a hose either as adirect stream or as a finely dispersed spray or fog A nozzle of thegeneral type here under considera-tion is shown in Patent No. 2,089,304,issued to Paul Stein, August l0, 1937. In general, such a nozzlecomprises telescoped cylindrical inlet and outlet sections, the bores ofwhich provide a continuous passage through the nozzle opening to anoutlet at its front, and an elongated valve member comprising a stemportion anchored at its rear in the inlet nozzle section and extendingforwardly through the passage, terminating at its front in an enlargedhead. The nozzle outlet is defined by a bore anda forwardly openingcounterbore in the outlet nozzle section, the bottom of the counterborebeing defined by an outwardly divergent wall which provides a valve seatwith which the enlarged head on the valve stem member cooperates.

The inlet and outlet nozzle sections have a threaded connection wherebythe outlet nozzle section may be rtated on the inlet section and suchrotation is translated into axial motion of the outlet nozzle section tocarry .its valve seat to and from positions of seating engagement withthe underside ofthe head on the valve member. When the valve head isnearly seated, water issues from the outlet in a steady, substantiallycylindrical stream, guided by the annular orifice defined by the wall ofthe outlet counterbore and the valve head, while axial adjustment of theoutlet nozzle section to positions in which the underside of the valvehead approaches the mouth of the `counterbore results in emission ofwater from the nozzle in the form of a spray or mist diverging conicallyand covering a greater or lesser area depending upon the nozzleadjustment.

In nozzles of the type under consideration, it has heretofore beencustomary to provide a forwardly converging passage in the outlet nozzlesection, leading to the nozzle outlet. As exemplified in the aforesaidpatent to Stein, the convergence of this passage was brought about bythe fact that the outside diameter of the inlet nozzle member, where ittelescopes into the outlet nozzle member, is necessarily greater thanthe diam-eter of the nozzle outlet, in order to avoid ythe necessity foran excessively large head on the valve. Because of the very highpressures employed in modern fire fighting apparatus, and which isrequired for efficient fog-type spray dispersal, this convergence of thefluid passage in the outlet nozzle section brought about a very seriouscondition. The stream of waiter Ithrough the nozzle exerted a forwardforce upon the transverse area provided by the convergent walls of thepassage, which force was sufficient t-o cause the outlet nozzle sectionto creep forwardly (i. e., to its closed position) relative tothe inletmember.

While such creeping of lthe outlet nozzle member could be overcome orcontrolled by suitable locking means on the nozzle, whereby the inletand outlet nozzle sections might ybe releasably secured in various fixedpositions with respect to one another, .the necessity for operating sucha lock would in itself be a source of great annoyance, particularlysince apparatus of the type .in question is usually employed under thestress of emergency conditions. More important, however, was the factthat the pressure exerted by the stream olf water upon the convergentwall portions of the outlet nozzle section exer-ted a force upon ftheoutlet mem-ber which tended to resist movement thereof from its closedto its open position and from its steady stream to its spray positions,s o that manual adjustment of the nozzle was extremely difficul-t attimes when it was subjected to full pumping pressure.

With these objections to pri-or types of nozzles in mind it is an objectof the present invention to provide a fire hose nozzle of the characterdescribed wherein the outlet nozzle member has a passage therethroughwhich is substantially uniform in diameter throughout its length, so asto minimize the `tendency for fluid pressure to interfere with axialadjustment of the outlet nozzle member.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a nozzle ofthe character described wherein the fluid passage 'through the outletnozzle member is delined by a sleeve having a substantially closesliding fit in a bore in Ithe inlet nozzle member, which bore forms aportion of the fluid passage in `the inlet nozzle member, and -Whereinthe sleeve has a relatively thin wall which presents a relatively smalltransverse area `to a iiuid stream flowing under high pressure throughthe outlet nozzle member so that the forward force exerted by the iiuidupon the outlet nozzle member will be negligible.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a tire hosenozzle of the character described having telescoping inlet and outletnozzle sections, the inlet section having a bore forming part of thepassage `which has its `through the nozzle.

A further object of this invention resides in the `provision of asturdy, compact and simple fire hose nozzle of the character describedwhich may be adjusted to emit water either as a straight stream or as aspray, and wherein manual manipulation of the nozzle to afford suchadjustment thereof does not require the expenditure of an inconvenientamount of effort.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction,combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by the appended claim, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of thehereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of theclaim.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one complete example of thephysical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the bestmode so far devised for the practical application of the principlesthereof, and in which:

Figure l is a longitudinall sectional View of a nozzle embodying theprinciples of this invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 2-2 inFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a `fragmentary perspective view of the front or outlet endportion of the nozzle; and

Figures 4 5 and 6 are fragmentary sectional views more or lessdiagrammatically illustrating various positions of throughout theseveral views, the nozzle of this invention comprises, in general, asubstantially cylindrical inlet nozzle body section 5, a substantiallycylindrical outlet nozzle body section 6 telescoped over the inlet bodysection, and an elongated valve member 7 fixed in the inlet body sectionand extending therefrom through the outlet body section.

The inlet and outlet nozzle body sections cooperate to define a uidpassage 9 communicating an inlet 10 at the rear of the nozzle with anoutlet 11 at its front. The inlet is preferably provided with internalthreads, as at 12, to accommodate a standard hose connection, and justahead of the inlet the nozzle may be provided with a ball cut-off valveof well-known type comprising a rotatable valve element 14 which has abore 15 therethrough and which is mounted in the duct for manualrotation, by means of a handle 16, to and from an open position in whichthe axis of its bore aligns with that of the passage.

The elongated valve member 7 is concentrically anchored in the inletnozzle member by having the rear portion of its stem extend through acylindrical boss 18 which is in turn supported concentrically in theinlet nozzle section by means of radially extending webs 19 whichconnect the boss with adjacent portions of the passage wall. Arearwardly facing shoulder 20 on the stem portion of the valve member,engaging the front of the boss, cooperates with a nut 21 on the threadedrear end of the stern portion, engaging the rear of the boss, topreclude axial displacement of the valve member with respect to theinlet nozzle member.

The outlet nozzle section has a rearwardly extending skirt 23 whichembraces and is journaled on the inlet nozzle section and has a threadedconnection therewith, as at 24, whereby rotation of the outlet nozzlemember relative to the inlet nozzle member is translated into axialmovement between the nozzle members. The outlet 11 in the outlet nozzlesection is a counterbore, the bottom of which converges inwardly toprovide a seat 25 for an enlarged head 27 on the front end of the stemportion of the valve member.

Thus as the outlet nozzle section is rotated on its threaded connectionwith the inlet nozzle section, the outlet nozzle section is carried backand forth, to and from positions in which the valve head seats againstthe bottom of the counterbore to close the nozzle, so that the adjustingvalve serves as a supplement to the ball valve in enabling cut-oif ofwater issuing from the nozzle when the outlet nozzle member is in itsmost forward position. As the outlet nozzle section is moved rearwardlyon the inlet nozzle section to a position in which the valve head isjust oif its seat, as shown in Figure 4, water is permitted to issuefrom the outlet as a steady, substantially cylindrical hollow stream,being guided for such flow by its passage through the annular orificejointly dened by the valve head and the wall of the outlet counterbore.Further relative movement between the outlet nozzle section and thevalve head disposes the valve head about half way out of thecounterbore, as shown in Figure 5, so that water is somewhat dispersedas it issues from the outlet. Axial vmovement of the outlet nozzlesection to its most rear- .ward position, illustrated in Figure 6,adjusts the nozzle for a ne, widely dispersed spray or fog since thewall of the counterbore provides virtually no guidance for the expelledwater and the valve head tends to deflect all parts of the streamlaterally.

A number of small ribs or lands 28 on the front of the outlet section,disposed at circumferentially spaced intervals around the mouth of theoutlet, deflect portions of lthe spray stream inwardly so that the fogis relatively uniform throughout the area which it covers.

The several positions of adjustment of the nozzle may be dened by detentmeans comprising a lever 29 mounted on the inlet nozzle section forpivotal motion about an axis transverse to that of the nozzle. Acompression spring 39 reacting between the outlet nozzle section and therear end of the lever biases the front end of the lever into yieldingengagement with a small circumferential flange 31 on the rear of theskirt on the outlet nozzle section, and this flange is provided withsmall radial notches 32 (see Figure 2) in which the front end portion ofthe lever engages with a detent action to define the various positionsof adjustment of the nozzle shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6. Suitableindicia of the nature of the spray produced by each nozzle setting maybe delineated on the skirt of the outlet nozzle in line with the notcheswhich deline such settings. A longitudinally ridged rubber grip 33 onthe front of the outlet nozzle member facilitates manipulation of thenozzle and affords protection to it against blows against hard surfaces.

In the nozzle of the present invention the outlet nozzle sectionpresents a minimum of surface area transverse to the path of the streamof water flowing therethrough because the water is constrained to flowto the nozzle outlet through a rearwardly projecting sleeve 34 on theoutlet nozzle section which is telescoped in a substantially closelyfitting bore 35 in the inlet nozzle section. The sleeve is formed oftubing having a relatively thin wall, bonded or otherwise secured at itsfront end to the front of the outlet nozzle section. Thus the sleeve atall times provides an extension of the bore 35 in the inlet nozzlesection, which extension leads directly to the nozzle outlet and nowherehas a diameter greater than that of the nozzle outlet. Because theinside diameter of the sleeve is uniform throughout substantially itsentire length and is smaller than that of the nozzle outlet, the onlyarea transverse to the stream flow which is presented by the outletnozzle member is the relatively small cross sectional area of thesleeve, against the rear end of which the stream impinges as it entersthe same.

A resilient O-ring 36 in a circumferential groove in the inlet nozzlemember provides a seal between the two nozzle members. It will beunderstood that the sleeve is concentric with the skirt on the outletnozzle member and cooperates therewith to define a rearwardly openingannular well 37 in which the front end of the inlet nozzle member isreceived. Obviously the bore 35 in the front of the inlet nozzle membershould have a uniform diameter throughout at least that portion of it inwhich the sleeve is telescopingly received, but preferably itcornmunicates at its rear with a counterbore 3S which opens to the rearof the outlet nozzle member. The additional width of the passage at therear portion of the inlet nozzle member is of course desirable in orderto minimize interference with stream ow through the passage due to thepresence of the anchoring means for the valve stem.

It will be obvious that the relations of the bore 35 and sleeve 34 maybe reversed; that is, the sleeve may be secured to the inlet nozzlesection, extending forwardly therefrom into a bore in the outlet nozzlemember, which bore would of course have a diameter no greater than thatof the nozzle outlet.

From the foregoing description taken together with the accompanyingdrawing it will be apparent that this invention provides a lire hosenozzle of the type which is adjustable to provide either a straight,substantially cylindrical stream or a fog type of spray, which nozzlewill not have a tendency to creep out of adjustment, toward its closedposition, and will be readily manipulatable from one of its positions ofadjustment to another without the necessity for exerting excessiveeffort in making such adjustment.

What we claim as our invention is:

An adjustable hose nozzle having telescoped threadedly connected tubularinlet and outlet sections, the latter having a valve seat at its outletcooperable with a valve member on the end of a valve stem which is fixedin the inlet section and extends axially through both sections, toadjust the stream issuing from the nozzle as the outlet section is movedaxially with respect to the inlet section in consequence of relativerotation between the sections, said nozzle being characterized by anopen ended bore of uniform diameter defining the downstream end of theinlet section; and an open-ended sleeve xed in and defining thedownstream end of the outlet section and 1eading to the valve seat, saidsleeve having a close sliding t in said bore of the inlet section andhaving a relatively thin Wall so that the bore of the sleeve is butslightly smaller than said bore of the inlet section in which it slidesand the cross sectional area of the sleeve Wall at its open upstream endwhere the sleeve communicates with said bore of the inlet sectionpresents a minimum obstruc- 6 tion to flow through the nozzle, therebyminimizing the tendency for fluid pressure to interfere with therelative axial adjustment of the nozzle sections required to adjust thestream issuing from the nozzle.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re,21,469 Stein May 2S, 1940 1,091,552 Westerberg Mar. 31, 1914 1,899,506Hutt Feb. 28, 1933 1,931,761 Hertel Oct. 24, 1933 2,552,445 Nielsen May8, 1951 2,684,268 Hjulian July 20, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 10,233 Germany1879

